A Travel Site for Architects

A travel blog … for architects by architects … sounds pretty good right? If there is one out there, I haven’t found it. I suppose I should be a bit more clear, I’m not talking about a travel blog where the owner of the blog is the only one doing the traveling (seriously, how much travel can one person actually do AND work at the same time?). I’d consider that more of a travel diary.

A few weeks ago I mentioned in the article “Hi, I’m Bob and I am an Architect Blogger” something that has been rolling around in my head for the past few years – a travel site dedicated to architects and people who travel for the sake of looking at architecture. I wrote:

There are other real positives to having a blog site. As a direct result from vastly improving (enlarging?) my digital footprint, I have met other people who I am in awe of … people who inspire me with the things they are doing. I’ve met other writers, creators, bloggers, podcasters, owners, clients, artists, inventors … everything. I barely know my neighbors but I now know (and have meaningfully connected) with real people from almost every conceivable location on this planet. There are times that I think I should start a video travel site where I go and visit all these designers and architects I’ve met from around the world and have them show me where they live, their every day architecture and design. Not just the stuff in the magazines, but the architecture that makes up and defines the neighborhoods where they work and live. That would be an amazing site and I know I could do something like that now.

I’m serious – pretty sure I could get this going but I would need support from all the amazing people who visit this site. Most people have pretty boring travel photos – but architects seem to take different sorts of pictures and of different sorts of things. I think I would like to use this site to share these images. The idea would be that you email me 5 to 10 photos of some place or building you visited, include some personal thoughts and description of what people are looking at, and I load them up here so that people who are doing research on their next vacation can more find them. I will label all the pictures and list who actually took the photo (I’m big on giving credit where it is due). Also, I’m not talking about pictures of places where everyone goes and there are a million photos available online (i.e. the Eiffel Tower) but of something, someplace that would resonate with other designers and architects – things WE like to see.

Maybe this is no more than a half-baked idea, but I would like to see if anyone else would like to play along. Give me your thoughts in the comment section below, I’d like to gauge the interest level.

Here is an example of what I am talking about – this is from my most recent trip to Lana’i, Hawaii.

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Kaumalapau Harbor, Lana’i, Hawaii

Located on the southwestern coast, Kaumalapau is the main commercial seaport for Lanai. The original harbor breakwater located here was built in 1920’s but was severely damaged by hurricanes. A new breakwater was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was dedicated on July 7, 2007 giving Kaumalapau Harbor a one of a kind look. Buttressed by 819, white, 35-ton Core-Loc armor units — the largest of their kind in the world — the harbor appears to be surrounded by giant, jack-like concrete blocks. [information taken from here]

Geographical reference so other people can see where these images are from … thanks Google maps!

This was an extremely interesting detour we took one afternoon. There aren’t very many people on the island of Lana’i under most circumstances but there wasn’t ANYBODY here at the harbor when we arrived. Access to the harbor is limited on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays due to security matters and freight activity. Despite the fact that most architects prefer to not have scale figures in their photos, this time I wish I did so that you could understand the scale of these Core-Loc armor units. They are massive and the scene is extremely surreal.

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I grabbed this photo off the website of the construction company who did the breakwater repair work – Baird. Hopefully this image gives a better sense of scale of the size and scope of this project.

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All the black and white images are pictures that I took while I was walking around the harbor. I am told that this is a great place to visit and watch the sun set – I believe it. I would highly recommend this little side trip if you are ever on the island of Lana’i.

[Location and photos submitted by Bob Borson, you can contact him directly at bob@lifeofanarchitect.com]

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The complimentary advice provided on ‘Life of an Architect’ is based on an abbreviated examination of the minimal facts given, not the typical extensive (and sometimes exhaustive) analysis I conduct when working with my clients. Therefore, anything you read on this site is not a substitute for actually working with me. Following my casual advice is at your own peril … if you want my undivided attention, I would recommend hiring me. Cheers.